Lillian's Choice
by tenshi2708
Summary: Lillian is settling into a new life in Bluebell after leaving the city. She begins to develop feelings for the mysterious Mikhail before she even meets him , but is she too blind to see that Kana cares for her? Lillian's friendship with Kana is frowned on by her friends, so will she listen to them or her heart?
1. Chapter 1

Lillian sighed as she opened the door to her new home. It was apparent that no one had lived in it for quite some time. She retrieved her mop and bucket from her cart and got to work.

Lillian had never really felt like she belonged in the city. When she decided that she would move to the country her friends had laughed at her. Undeterred she set out anyways, looking for somewhere where she felt like she belonged. When the horse she had rented got spooked and bucked her, she was surprised to wake up to the faces of two concerned mayors. It was rather awkward standing there while they bickered over which town she should go to for medical treatment. In the end she decided to go with Rutger, who seemed the friendlier of the two. On the way to Bluebell they chatted and he had somehow convinced her that she should move into the old abandoned farmhouse on the edge of town. "Well why not?" she wondered, she was looking for a place to start new anyways. The town was quaint and westernized; apparently the other one was rather a traditional Japanese village. Lillian didn't think she would stand a chance when it came to learning their culture and was glad that she was moving to a town where she could easily fit in.

~~

Farm life kept Lillian busy, but she made time to get to know the villagers. She became fast friends with Georgia, a sweet girl with a southern twang. They often visited Laney at the café and chatted about everything under the sun. Laney especially liked to tease Lillian about the boys in town.

"So you don't like anyoneeeee?" she moaned, unimpressed with the lack of interest Lillian showed in romance.

Lillian shook her head. "Not really, I mean Ash and Cam are nice and all but I haven't even been living here that long. I don't feel like I really know them enough to like either one of them."

Georgia giggled and nudged Lillian's arm with her elbow. "Careful Lil, Laney has dibs on Cam."

"What!?" She screamed as her face turned red. "I most certainly do not!"

Lillian and Georgia laughed. Laney stuck out her lip, pouted, and then had a sudden realization. "Waiiiiit," she hissed, "What about Mikhail? He will be coming back here this fall."

Lillian cocked her head. "Mikhail? What's he like?"

Laney grinned, "Oh he's got lovely blue eyes and light hair. He's also a traveling musician. He leaves town when it gets hot but he's always back in time for the music festival. He's rather soft spoken, but very sweet. The two of you might have a lot to talk about since your both from the city."

Lillian smiled and nodded. It would be nice to talk to someone who understood where she came from.

The girls continued to chat, but Lillian found herself daydreaming about the mysterious Mikhail.

~~

Summer was almost over. Laney and Georgia had eagerly told Lillian everything they knew about Mikhail over and over. She was a little embarrassed to admit it, but she had developed a crush on this man that she had never even met. The girls had informed her of his likes, and she was determined to find something to give him for his birthday, which would fall just a few days after he arrived in Bluebell. She headed out to the mountain to search for rare treasures that he might enjoy.

~~

Lillian panted. She had climbed to the top of the mountain, had reached the base of the other side, and still hadn't found anything that she thought Mikhail would like. She frowned as she faced the path that lead to the entrance of Konohana. It was possible that one of the shops there would have something he would like, but did she dare go inside the village? She was worried that the mayor would be angry with her for not moving there. Lillian took a deep breath, and started to walk into town, her passion for finding something for Mikhail driving her.

She smiled when she saw stone turnips on the gate separating the town from the mountain path. She had never seen so much bamboo growing before either. There was a large fenced-in area up ahead and she eagerly ran up to see the horses inside. "Hello horsey," she cooed and she stroked the main of an older brown horse. The horse happily whinnied as Lillian scratched behind its ear.

"Can I help you with something?"

Lillian turned around to and saw a tall young man with kind brown eyes smiling at her.  
"Oh no I'm sorry I just stopped to see your horses on my way into town. My name's  
Lillian, what's yours?"

He held out his hand, "Kana. I run the shop here. I sell pets, carts, and horses. That there is Hayate, she's mine." Lillian shook his hand and he joined her at the fence. Hayate nuzzled against him and he laughed. He pulled a treat from his pocket and she happily accepted it before walking away to visit with the other horses. "So I haven't seen you around before, are you from Bluebell?"

Lillian nodded. "Yeah I'm the new farmer there."

"So what are you doing all the way over here? Aren't you worried what the others will think?"

Lillian cocked her head, "The others? What do you mean?"

"Well the people in your town. We're rivals you know; our towns have hated each other for a long time."

"Ah really!?" Lillian's face turned red, "I didn't realize! Am I not allowed here?" She looked around panicked, and here she was just worried about the mayor not liking her. Now that Kana had brought it up, Lillian remembered Georgia mentioning that the towns were rivals, but she hadn't been to any festivals where the towns faced off yet. She had been too busy on the farm.

Kana laughed, "No I think you're fine. You're kinda an outsider in that town anyways aren't you? I mean it's not like you grew up there. I doubt there would be any bad blood towards you from anyone here."

"But I turned your town down," Lillian wailed. "When I crashed on the mountain I met both of the mayors and I said no to yours."

Kana frowned; he didn't mean to upset the poor girl. "Hey it's alright; here I'll show you around town. No one will mess with you if I'm escorting you."

He held out his arm and Lillian gingerly took hold of it. Kana led her throughout the entire town and introduced her to everyone. They all seemed nice. Some, like Sheng the blacksmith and Gombe the shop keeper were very eccentric. There were also very shy people, like Reina and little Ying. Kana and Lillian stopped at the town hall and Mayor Ina politely introduced herself again and told Lillian she would be welcome to move to the farm there if she ever wished to. Lillian still felt like Ina gave off a rather standoffish feel, but she didn't seem angry that Lillian had chosen to move to Bluebell.  
They ended up back at Yun's tea house and Kana offered to buy Lillian supper. He ordered food for the both of them since she was unfamiliar with the items on the menu. Everything was delicious; Yun was a very good cook. Kana walked with Lillian back to the entrance of the town when they were finished.

"Kana thank you so much for today, is there any way I can repay you?"

He grinned, "Well you could cook me spicy curry." Lillian gave him a confused look and he laughed. "Ah I guess you don't know how to make it. Well how about you just come visit me at the shop again soon?"

Lillian giggled, "That I can do. Maybe I'll bring a treat for Hayate too."

Kana nodded and waved to Lillian as she began her path back over the mountain. He smiled to himself, what a neat girl.


	2. Chapter 2

Lillian visited Kana every day for the next week after scouring the mountain, looking for Mikhail's present. Exasperated she finally asked Kana, "Do you know Mikhail?"

He nodded, "Yeah he comes and performs in town every year, why?"

"Well I heard his birthday is coming up and I wanted to give him a present."

Kana raised an eyebrow. "Have you even met him yet?"

Lillian shook her head.

"Don't you think that's being a little forward since you don't know him?"

Lillian blushed "Well um maybe, but you see, I um just want to be friendly." Lillian ground her toe into the ground as she spoke.

Kana shrugged. "Well he always drinks tea at Yun's when he's here so I guess she would know."

Lillian's eyes lit up. "Oh thank you Kana! I'm gonna go ask her now!"

Kana felt a twinge of something in his chest when Lillian ran off. Was it jealousy? No, he barely knew her; there was no way it could be that. Kana sighed and hopped over the fence to visit with Hayate.

~~

"Thank you Yun!" Lillian called out as she left the teahouse, clutching a bag of tea leaves and instructions for brewing them. She had bought enough to make Mikhail tea everyday for a month, but some of would have to be brewed for practice. Lillian retuned to Kana's and found him in the barn talking to Hayate. "Hey I'm back Kana, thanks for the tip. I got lots of tea so maybe I can use it as an excuse to get to know him first." She giggled and Kana smiled back at her.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea." He was silent for a moment before tentatively  
saying, "Hey Lilly?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Ah try not to get too worked up over something until you experience it alright?"

"Ok Kana-ey." She giggled and stuck her tongue out. No one ever called her Lilly before and she was secretly a little embarrassed that Kana had given her a pet name.

He nodded and scratched the back of his head. "So ah, do you wanna go on a walk with me?"

"Sure, can I leave the tea in your house?"

Kana nodded and Lillian ran to put the bag inside. Kana jumped the fence and met her at the door. They walked down to the bridge together and threw stones in the river.  
Kana decided to start a conversation the only way he could think of. "So you have a horse right?"

"Well it's a pony and I'm renting it for now. I try not to put too much strain on him since he's so small. I really want a larger horse to help out on the farm and to take on rides in the mountains. It will probably be a while before I can afford one though.

Kana nodded understandingly. "I can help you pick one out once you have the money. You seem like you know a lot about horses already."

Lillian nodded and decided not to mention that Georgia was already looking for the perfect horse for her. "I'm still learning though."

"Well I can teach you whatever you need to know."

"Ok, thanks Kana. You've helped me out a lot today."

Kana grinned and slight blush crossed his cheeks.

~~

Lillian's heart raced when she saw Mikhail walk onto the stage. He was even more handsome than she had imagined. His music was enchanting and the festival seemed to end too soon. Georgia and Laney each grabbed one of Lillian's arms and drug her up to the stage where Mikhail was putting away his violin.

"Hey great show," Laney cooed.

Mikhail looked up at the girls and smiled. "Oh thank you Laney."

"You're welcome. This is Lillian, she's our new farmer!"

Georgia and Laney pushed Lillian forwards and she held out her hand to Mikhail. "Hi," she said blushing.

He smiled and gently kissed the top of her hand. "My, your voice is a beautiful melody."

"Oh, thank you." Lillian nervously glanced behind her to see that the girls had disappeared. She sighed before summoning up the courage to ask, "Would you like to come to my house for tea? I would love to get to know you since we're both from the city."

He nodded. "I would love to. I know it can be hard to relate to people who grew up here. Everyone is really nice, but they can't help being naive about some things."

Lillian gave an understanding nod. It was true that sometimes even Georgia would respond with a blank stare when she talked about her old home.

They walked together to Lillian's house after Mikhail returned his violin to the room he stayed in at the town hall. She made him the tea that she bought from Yun and he smiled. "Oh what a pleasant surprise! I usually can't get tea like this here. Did you buy it in Konohana?"

"Yeah, I was looking forwards to inviting you over to talk so I asked around and found out from Yun that you always order this."

He chuckled. "Well how sweet of you. I've never had someone go so far out of their way to welcome me."

Lillian blushed. As the two of them continued to talk, she was glad to discover that Mikhail was even sweeter than she had imagined he would be. She started to feel like her little crush on him could develop into something more.

~~

The next day Lillian snuck off to watch Mikhail perform in Konohana's music festival. She sat with Kana and he couldn't help but notice the way she drooled over the musician. He found it a little irritating, but didn't say anything to her. When the concert was over she barely said bye to him before running up to talk to Mikhail. Kana waited a few minutes, talking to his friend Hiro to pass the time, but eventually gave up on Lillian and walked home.

Lillian didn't come to see Kana for the next few days; she was too caught up in pursuing Mikhail. Kana missed her more than he imagined he would but tried his best to keep her off his mind. He was failing miserably.


	3. Chapter 3

Lillian screamed in delight. She finally found one of the rare bottles that Mikhail said he liked so much while hand fishing, and just in time too, his birthday was tomorrow. She clutched it to her chest and looked around; she had to share her find with someone. She was right by the entrance to Konohana again so she safely tucked the bottle into her bag and ran inside to look for Kana.

He wasn't home, or in the barn. Lillian frowned and went down to the clinic. Kana had said that he sometimes went there to visit Hiro. Ayame was standing at her book shelf when Lillian walked inside. She seemed surprised. "Oh hello Lillian, are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine. I was just looking for Kana, is he here?"

"No he went down to Yun's with Hiro about an hour ago." Ayame paused and pushed her lips together. Lillian started to say thank you and leave, but Ayame stopped her. "Wait, Lil you know Kana cares for you right?"

Lillian laughed, "Yeah I know, were becoming really good friends. We talk about all kinds of stuff and…"

"Well you hurt him by not coming around lately," Ayame interrupted.

Lillian's face fell. It was true; she had forgotten to come see Kana since the music festival. She then realized that she had abandoned him afterwards too. "Oh noooo," she moaned. "I'm so stupid. Thank you for mentioning it Doctor, I'm going to go apologize to him right now."

Ayame nodded and smiled to herself as Lillian ran out of the door.

~~

Kana and Hiro were sitting at a corner table talking when Lillian ran in. Yun started to greet her but Lillian put a finger to her lips and winked. Taking the hint Yun giggled and nodded. Kana's back was facing her and Lillian gave Hiro the same gesture. He casually picked up his tea and sipped it as she snuck up behind Kana. She threw her arms around his neck and yelled, "Surprise!"

Kana jerked his legs up into the table and the dishes jumped. Hiro smiled into his tea as Kana whipped around flustered and saw Lillian. She had let go of him when he jumped and was now smiling sweetly. "Lilly!? Where did you come from?" he asked, his face hot with embarrassment.

"Oh I was just in the neighborhood. Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

Kana turned to excuse himself but Hiro was already motioning for him to go. Kana laughed and got up. He walked outside with Lillian and they went to their usual spot on the bridge. She abruptly turned to him and grabbed one of his hands. His face got hot as she gazed intensely into his eyes. "Kana?"

"Uh yeah?" What was she doing today, other than giving him cardiac arrest?

"I'm so super sorry about the last couple of days. I totally blew you off and that's not how friends should act."

"Oh." He smiled a little. "Well it's ok, I mean you're here now so it's not like you totally blew me off or something."

Lillian lurched forwards and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Oh I'm so glad you're not too mad at me Kana. We were just becoming good friends and I was treating you badly." She paused and leaned back. "Oh no I've probably been ignoring Laney and Georgia too!" She moaned and thumped her forehead down into Kana's chest.

Kana smiled and patted her back. She was so funny when she got dramatic like this. "Hey it's ok, I'm sure they realize that you're busy." He hesitated before asking, "So how's it going with Mikhail?"

Lillian sighed and jumped up onto the railing. "Oh I think it's going well. I've talked to him every day since he arrived, and he's been very kind. I even found him the perfect birthday gift for tomorrow!" She pulled the shiny blue bottle from her bag and displayed it proudly."

Kana nodded and gave a half hearted smile, "Hey that's great Lily. I'm glad things are working out like you were hoping." He watched as she carefully returned the bottle to the bag before continuing, "Well I don't want to be rude but I should probably get back to Hiro. You should make some more time this week to come in and visit, ok?"

"Only if you promise to buy me lunch," she teased.

Kana shrugged. "Whatever it takes to see my Lilly."

They both blushed and Kana quickly excused himself again. Lillian happily returned to Bluebell, stopping to invite Georgia and Laney to her house. She had a lot she wanted to talk about.

~~

Lillian had been avoiding the subject of her adventures in Konohana, but she finally gave in and decided to tell the girls everything. After she finished her story she was surprised by the looks of disgust on their faces. Georgia had her face scrunched up as she said, "Kana? That dirty horse rancher? How could you mistake him for a kind person? "

Laney nodded in agreement. "Yeah everyone knows that the people in that town are mean and uncivilized. You're better off sticking around here with us and Mikhail. You make it sound like you're falling for this Kana person." She shook her head in disappointment.

Lillian's eyes began to fill up with tears. She didn't think Laney and Georgia could be so mean. She wanted to defend Kana, and everyone else in Konohana, but she knew that it would be no use. The girls didn't know any better.

Georgia and Laney tried to comfort Lillian and promised her that Mikhail would love his gift. Lillian pretended to listen to everything that they said, but found her thoughts preoccupied with ways to convince them to give the villagers from Konohana a chance.


	4. Chapter 4

Mikhail loved his present and it spurred him to ask Lillian out on a date. She eagerly accepted and the two of them went to the mountain spring. He brought along his violin and played a beautiful song for her. Afterwards they sat by the sparkling waters and chatted.

"So Mikhail, have you been performing for the music festivals in the two towns here long?"

He shrugged. "Well not really, I've only been doing this for three years now."

"So do you ever worry about the feud?"

He adjusted his glasses as he thought. "No I guess not. Both towns invite me to play, so I do. If only one town wanted me I wouldn't really mind, although I do like sharing my music."

"Do you ever wonder if you could unite the two towns with music?"

"No, I think that everyone is rather set in their ways and I try and avoid the politics of the towns if at all possible."

Lillian frowned. Mikhail didn't seem like he would be willing to help her. She found herself being highly disappointed with him.

~~

Lillian walked into Konohana. She had parted ways with Mikhail at the summit, claiming that she was going to forage on the mountain for herbs. She instead headed straight to Kana's house. She was hoping that he would be able to lift her dampened sprits.

Kana saw her coming and waved from the yard. She ran up and hopped onto the fence. He noticed her face looked sad and asked, "Hey Lilly something wrong?"

She nodded and was quiet for a moment. Kana patiently waited for her to respond. "Well it's a lot of things I guess," she started. "Today was Mikhail's birthday and he liked my gift so much that he asked me out on a date."

"Oh?" Kana tried to hide the frustration in his voice. "How was it?"

"Oh it was nice. He played for me and everything, but. . ."

"But?"

She stuck out her lip. "Well I guess he's not all I expected."

Kana's heart jumped in his chest. "I'm sorry Lily. Do you want me to buy you lunch?"

She smiled and nodded. Kana hopped the fence and they walked to Yun's together. Once they were seated and had ordered Lillian let out a rather large sigh.

"What's the matter? Still bummed about Mikhail?"

"Hmm? Oh well yeah a little. If he asks me out again I guess I can give him another shot, but can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, shoot."

"Well," Lillian took a deep breath, "Do you hate the people of Bluebell?"

Kana laughed. "Well I can't because you live there."

A slight smile crossed over Lillian's lips but her face grew sadder. Kana frowned, he had said something wrong.

"No I don't hate em," he continued. "I mean I don't care for some of the people I've met because of the way they treated me but I know that they are just ignorant. If I had to name someone I liked, I would choose Eileen."

Lillian's face brightened. "The carpenter?"

"Yeah. I've run into her in the mountains before and she treated me very kindly. She even told me that if I ever needed work done on the house or the barn, to just send her a letter."

Lillian excitedly shook her head. "Oh yes she is very sweet. We talked a little one day about expanding my farm."

Yun had brought the food to the table and began to set the dishes down. Lillian bounced impatiently as she waited for Yun to leave. Kana smiled and shook his head at her. As soon as Yun was out of ear shot Lillian continued. "So do you think that the two towns could ever learn to get along?"

Kana nodded almost instantly. "Of course. People just need to be educated about the qualities of each one. I try not to jump to conclusions about cute farm girls showing up out of the blue from Bluebell, I just smile and introduce myself."

Lillian blushed when Kana called her cute. She tried to ignore it by moving the conversation along. "So do you have any ideas for how we could teach the others to be like that?"

Kana shrugged. "Well people can be stubborn. I just try to lead by example." He paused and thought for a moment. "I suppose we could start showing the folks from Bluebell how much we get along by going to the cooking festivals together. Maybe you can introduce me to your friends so they can get to know that some people from Konohana are unbiased."

Lillian frowned and poked at a dumpling. She mumbled, "My friends already expressed their feelings about us."

Kana blushed a deep red. "Um us?" He wasn't sure what she meant by that, it almost sounded like she told her friends that they were a couple.

Lillian continued to stare down at her food. "Yeah they made some, well rude comments about our friendship. I don't know what to do."

Kana felt the color drain from his face. He stretched out an arm and lifted Lillian's chin so their eyes met. He smiled and said, "Hey it's alright. We can prove them wrong, ok?"

Lillian smiled as she nodded her head. Kana ruffled her hair and steered the conversation in the direction of horses as they continued to eat their meal.


	5. Chapter 5

Mikhail did end up asking Lillian out on a date again, and she decided to give him another shot. He continued to ask her and she grew to love certain aspects of his personality, but she still felt an aching in her heart for more. He was sweet and kind, but he didn't really make her laugh. She felt the butterflies in her stomach fade fast and wondered if that's how love was supposed to work.

"Lillian? Ah Lillian are you listening?" Mikhail waved a hand in front of Lillian's face.

"What? I mean yeah, of course. You were saying how music is like. . ."

Mikhail frowned and interrupted. "What's going on? Today I just can't hear that beautiful music in your voice that I usually do."

Lillian sighed. She had been avoiding this conversation. After a deep breath she said, "Mikhail you're really great but I don't know if we should keep going on dates."

He sighed, "Oh."

"I'm really sorry. I hope we can still be friends."

Mikhail was quiet for a while and stared into the spring. Lillian shifted uncomfortably as she waited for a response. He eventually turned to her with a sad smile. "I think we can stay friends. You have been very kind to me and we did have a lot of great chats."

Lillian smiled sheepishly and nodded.

Mikhail held out his hand and Lillian shook it. "Friends?"

"Friends."

~~

Lillian didn't know why she ran to him, or why she was crying. It was her idea to break it off with Mikhail, and yet she ended up on Kana's doorstep blubbering like a child. She had thrown herself into his arms and he stood there holding her until she gained some composure. He led her into the house and made her tea. He sat next to her and rubbed her back as she sniffled through her story of what had happened.

"And I don't even know what happened. I was so crazy for him, and then nothing. Nada. Nope." She blew her nose into a tissue that Kana handed her.

Having Lillian in his arms and comforting her was driving Kana crazy. He wanted so badly to lean down and kiss her, to tell her he loved her and everything would be ok. He didn't though. He was a perfect gentleman and just allowed her to let everything out.

"The way he looked at me I think that he had actually fallen for me! For me! Can you believe it? I guess I didn't realize how much he liked me after all. To me it just started to feel like a good friendship. We talked, but there wasn't a spark."

Kana could believe that Mikhail had fallen for her. He wondered if she ever felt a spark when she spent time with him. Kana leaned in and breathed in the smell of her hair. He smiled; it smelled like straw from working in the barn. Lillian was too busy talking to even notice he had leaned in. Caught in the moment Kana kissed Lillian on the forehead. She immediately stopped talking and turned a deep scarlet. Kana blushed furiously too when he realized what he had done. "Ah I'm sorry you had such a bad morning."

Lillian giggled, "Well you helped make it a lot better."

Kana smiled, not quite understanding what she was referring to. "You know what can improve it ten more times?"

Lillian cocked her head confused.

Kana winked. "Letting me buy you lunch again."

Lillian laughed and shoved Kana backwards. He quickly righted himself and stuck his tongue out. Lillian got up and ran to the other corner of the room, returning the gesture. Kana got up and chased her throughout the house before finally catching her. He grabbed her from behind and pinned her arms to her sides as he spun her around.

Laughing he set her down and she quickly spun around in his arms and they stood there, their faces just inches apart.

They were both blushing, but staring contently into each other's eyes.

"Lilly?"

"Yeah?"

"I uh, I was wondering if, if maybe I could. . ."

Someone knocked on the door and they flew apart. Lillian busied herself with examining the horse statue in the main room while Kana answered the door.

"Hey Kana I got a letter for ya!" A cheerful Dirk was standing in the door way."

"Ah thanks." Kana took the envelope and started to close the door.

A mischievous grin crossed Dirk's lips. "Hey Kana," He whispered, "Am I interrupting something?"

Kana glared at him. "Yeah kinda." He whispered, "I'll talk to you later."

Dirk was still grinning and gave a thumbs-up as Kana shut the door.

Kana was relieved to see that Lillian was still looking at the statue.

She turned to him and smiled, "You know I've been meaning to ask you where you got this."

Kana walked over and patted the head of the horse. "My father made it." He laughed. "He used to get mad if he ever caught me playing on it, but it's the perfect size for a child to ride on."

Lillian nodded. "Where's your father at now?"

Kana shrugged. "I don't really know. I haven't heard from him in years. He's been out searching the world for the perfect horse."

Lillian frowned. "I'm sorry Kana. I'm sure he's doing great though! If he's anything like you I know he's a hard worker."

Kana blushed and smiled. "Thank you Lilly."

She smiled and pointed to the letter, "So who's that from?"

Kana had forgotten all about the letter. He opened it and began to read. He then started to laugh. "I can't believe it! It's from him."

Lillian gasped. "No way!" She ran over to see the letter. She skimmed over it and her heart sunk as she read what his father had written. He had found the perfect horse, but it had to be raised in a special environment. He was asking Kana to move back to his mother's old village and help. When she finished reading it she tentatively asked Kana, "What are you going to do?"

He sighed. "I don't know? What do you think?"

Lillian smiled, "I think you should follow you heart."

Kana nodded. "I'm staying here then. There's someone that I don't want to leave behind, I know father will understand."

Lillian blushed. Kana set the letter down on the counter and walked over to her. Her heart beat faster with every step he took. He held out his hand and she shyly laced her fingers in his. They walked together to Yun's and sat at their favorite table, only this time Lillian sat next to Kana.


	6. Chapter 6

Lillian found herself rushing through her chores the next morning. She had promised the girls that she would drop by and she wanted to give herself enough time to see them before Kana got off work. She had an overwhelmingly giddy feeling and found herself smiling nonstop. Her animals looked at her strangely as she spun around the barn.

Kana couldn't focus. It was a good thing that his shop was hardly ever busy. He paced back and forth as he thought about the day before. Lillian had been so accepting of him. She gladly took his hand and sat so close to him at Yun's. They had a great time like they always did, but it was the first time Kana felt like they were really a couple. Of course he hadn't officially asked her out, or told her how he felt yet. That would have to happen tonight. She said she was coming back tonight. Kana sighed and repetitively banged his head into the counter. "Ugggh," he groaned, "Stop. Thinking. About. Her."

Grady informed Lillian that Georgia was already at the café. She thanked him and headed up the path. She waved to Cam at his flower stand before going inside. Howard greeted her with a smile as she walked up the stairs to Laney's room. She was seized by two crazed girls with a hunger for gossip and thrown on to the bed. They dropped to the floor and looked up at her with sparkling eyes.

"Spill it." Laney said with a devilish grin.

"Yeah!" Georiga chimed in. "When you came back into town yesterday you were floating on cloud nine!"

Laney teased, "Your eyes are still sparkling. So what happened with Mikhail?"

Lillian's smile faded. "Well nothing. We just decided to be friends is all."

Laney arched and eyebrow and Georgia scratched her head. "So why were you so happy?" Georiga tilted her head as she waited for a response.

Lillian looked down at her lap and blushed. "Well I ended up having a really good rest of the day..." She wanted so badly to tell her friends about Kana, but she was afraid that they would respond like they did the last time. She then remembered Kana telling her to lead by example. The two towns would never learn to get along if they didn't learn to accept each other. Her smile returned and she continued, "With Kana."

The girls both drew in sharp breaths. Laney hissed, "We told you to stay away from Konohana."

Lillian shook her head. "You guys don't understand, he's really sweet. Everyone in town is super nice too. I feel at home there."

Georgia mumbled, "Well then maybe you should move there." Her voice grew louder. "Since you seem to like them so much more than us! You don't know what it's like to be hated by them because you didn't grow up here! Of course they like you, you're just another outsider! You apparently don't belong here either!"

Lillian drew back like she had been slapped. She whispered, "Georgia I love both towns. Why can't everyone just get along?"

Laney reached over to comfort Georgia while glaring at Lillian. She flatly said, "I think you need to leave my home."

Lillian stood up and said goodbye. She calmly walked down the stairs and waved to Howard and Cam on the way to the town hall. Rutger was inside in at the front desk and smiled up at her as she walked in.

"Hello Lillian, nice to see you. Can I help you with something today?"  
Lillian smiled. Her heart was aching, but she knew what she needed to do.

~~

It had only been a few minutes since Kana closed his shop but he was worried about Lillian. He had a feeling in his gut that something had happened to her. He wanted to leave and look for her, but he didn't want to be gone if she showed up at the shop. He walked out to the barn to visit Hayate and to try and calm his nerves.

~~

It didn't take Lillian long to pack up everything she owned into her small cart. She patted her pony and prayed that he would make the trip alright. She had her two chickens and a sheep riding alongside her belongings inside the cart and her cow was tied to the back. When she stood back she couldn't help laughing at the sight. Rutger waited for Lillian to lock up and return the keys to him. She also handed him a note. "Can you post this on the message board please?"

Rutger nodded. "Of course. It was wonderful having you here Lillian; you are always welcome to come back to this town."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

Lillian mounted her pony and began her long ride through the mountains. She didn't let a single tear drop fall until she was outside of Bluebell.

~~

Kana was going mad with worry. It had been hours since Lillian was supposed to be there. He had walked over to the clinic to try and figure out what he should do with Hiro. Hiro listened to everything Kana had to say before simply responding, "Go to her."

"What?"

"Just go to her farm. Take Hayate and go visit her. Maybe something did happen and she just couldn't make it. She probably needs someone right now if that's the case, and it should be you."

Hiro smiled as Kana nodded and flew out of the clinic.

Ayame walked over and asked, "Is he going for her?" Hiro nodded and she grinned. "Well it's about time."

~~

Lillian knocked on Kana's door, but there was no response. She checked the barn, then headed straight to the clinic. When she opened the door she was greeted by two surprised faces.

"Lillian? What are you doing here?" Ayame asked.

"Well I was looking for Kana; I needed to talk to him. . ."

Ayame's laughter interrupted Lillian. "Hun he just left to go see if you were ok. He was worried when you didn't show up on time for your date."

Lillian's eyes grew large. She had forgotten about her promise to Kana. She wailed, "Oh nooooo I can't believe it. I forgot after everything happened today and . . ."

Ayame interrupted again, "After what happened?"

Lillian's eyes began to well up and Ayame ran to her side. She wrapped and arm around her shoulders and squeezed. Hiro walked over and took Lillian's hand in his and patted it gently. Lillian began to cry as she told the story of what had happened that morning.

~~

Kana knocked on Lillian's door. He glanced around as he knocked again, something wasn't right. Where were her animals? Kana ran to the barn, it was empty. So was the chicken coop. He ran back to the house and looked into a window. Everything was gone. Kana fell to the ground with his head in his hands. She was gone.

Kana rode into town, searching for someone who might be able to tell him where Lillian was going. He saw a young man selling flowers. "Do you know Lilly? I mean Lillian?"

Cam frowned. "Yeah. What do you want with her?"

"I need to know where she went. I was just at her farm, and it's empty."

Cam arched an eyebrow. "I did see her walking to her farm with Rutger this morning." He shrugged. "But that's all I know. I haven't seen her since then."

"Where do I find Rutger?"

Cam pointed to the town hall and Kana leapt off of Hayate, and ran around and up the stairs. Rutger frowned when Kana burst through the doors and practically screamed, "Do you know where Lillian went!?"

~~

Ayame and Hiro helped Lillian unpack. She had put her animals in the barn before going to look for Kana, but left everything else in the cart. Hiro was making tea for everyone, Ayame was washing the floor, and Lillian was putting her clothes away when the door flew open. Everyone jumped and looked up to see and panting Kana standing in the door way. Lillian ran into his arms and began crying again. Kana wrapped his arms around her and led her outside where they could talk in private.

"Oh Kana I'm so sorry about today. Ayame and Hiro said we should just wait for you here so we did and I'm so sorry you went all that way for. . ."

Kana's lips met Lillian's. She squeaked in surprise and delight. The kiss was gentle and quick. Kana cupped Lillian's cheek with his hand and whispered, "I thought I lost you."

Lillian pecked Kana on the nose. "Nope. I decided that I wanted to be closer to the man I love."

Kana turned red. "Love?"

Lillian looked down as she blushed and nodded.

Kana gently tilted her head back up and looked into her eyes. "I love you too." He leaned down and kissed her again.

~~

"Doctor get away from the window!" Hiro fussed as he put his hands on his hips.

Ayame shook her head and motioned for Hiro to join her. "I think they're gonna kiss  
Hiro! Oh this is so exciting!"

"Doctor they obviously went outside to be alone."

"Oh Hiro he's kissing her!"

Hiro ran to the window. "What!? He's finally doing it!?"

~~

Kana helped Lillian finish unpacking. Hiro went to Yun's to get food for everyone since it was getting late. Ayame and Hiro eventually left, so Lillian finally had a chance to tell Kana what happened. When she was finished Kana said, "I'm sure they will cool down eventually. You can still keep in touch with the other villagers though. When the girls see you getting along with everyone else they won't have any other choice but to forgive you. Did you tell anyone but the mayor that you were leaving?"

Lillian shook her head. "No I just left a note for Rutger to post."

"Oh this one?" Kana held up a piece of paper and smiled at Lillian's surprised expression. "I took it from Rutger. I told him that we would come back to town tomorrow to better explain why you moved."

Lillian laughed as she said, "I knew I was making the right choice by moving here to be with you."

Kana smiled and kissed her forehead. "You know what else we need to do?"

"What?"

"We need to talk to Eileen about digging out the old tunnel again."

Lillian laughed. "We also need a bigger bed."

Kana blushed and mumbled, "Ah what for Lilly?"

Lillian shoved him. "For when you propose to me of course!"


End file.
